So why should San Diego County care about manufacturing? Here are a few reasons:

San Diego County’s 2,909 manufacturers employ 94,445.

Manufacturing industry jobs pay on average $75,824 annually, compared to the average private employer at $53,778.

Manufacturing industry jobs pay about 41 percent more than the average private job.

The manufacturing industry represents about 8.7 percent of all jobs in San Diego and about 12.2 percent of all wages/pay.

The manufacturing industry contributes more than $7.1 billion in wages every year.

On Oct. 3, many San Diego and Northern Baja companies will open their doors to the public as part MFG Day, a national program that addresses common misperceptions about the manufacturing industry. If you know a manufacturer in our region, encourage them to participate! Participants currently confirmed to host tours include: 3D Robotics, D&K Engineering and more. MFgday.com has the complete list.

The tours will be preceded by a breakfast panel and discussion with leaders in the manufacturing industry at San Diego Central Public Library including California Manufacturers and Technology Association, 3D Robotics, CareFusion, General Dynamics NASSCO, Sector 9, and ViaSat. To register to attend, visit https://sandiegomfgday2014.eventbrite.com.

We hope to see you at Manufacturing Day, but if we don’t catch you there, you can still follow the conversation on twitter using the hashtag #MadeinSD.

Manufacturing day is presented by San Diego City College CACT Program with additional sponsorship provided by D&K Engineering, Chase, Manpower, National University